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5 tips for a relaxed and happy dog!

Have you ever come home after a work trip or holiday and found your paw-pal stressed and your yard a mess? As much as we love our paw-pals, we just can’t take them everywhere with us. Even though dogs are our special companions they can also be content during time away from us! With set boundaries and consistent reinforcement in the short term, your puppy and dog will develop into a healthy and independent dog in the long term.

Situations where Separation Anxiety might develop:

A change in a family’s schedule causing an increase in or change to times where your dog/puppy might be left alone.

A change in residence and or an unfamiliar environment.

Traumatic events such as the sudden death of an owner/family member or separation/divorce of owners.

Change of guardian or owner.

Puppy/dog is being spoilt with too much of owners’ time and resources.

5 sure-fire ways to make your dog happy while you’re away!

For your puppy:

Create a safe place for your puppy such as a doggy bed, mat, box, or blanket area. Make the area special by using your puppy’s favourite toy or blanket. If you have a safe and secure outside area you can keep a kennel where you can leave your puppy outside when you are not home from an early age so they learn to be independent.

Wherever you choose to sleep your puppy, do you your best to ignore your puppy’s crying. We know it’s hard but we promise it will go away and then they learn there are no rewards for barking and whining.

Chew toys are fantastic for when your puppy is alone as they are a good stress reliever. They are also great for jaw strengthening and dental health and best of all reduce the chance that your furry friend will destroy your favourite shoes!

Invite your friends and family over so they can play with your beautiful puppy (not that they will need an invite!). It helps your puppy meet new people and not get too attached to just you. You will also score yourself some willing puppy minders when you’re away!

Slowly increase the time spent away from your puppy so it is not stressed with a sudden and long separation. Your puppy will learn that alone time can be fun and that you do come back to them.

For your dog:

Doggy play dates not only can be fun but can teach your dog how to play with other paw-pals. So when you are at work or away they learn to play with other dogs or animals in a positive way and are not alone or bored. Before you schedule a play date make sure the dogs have met each other and know the backyard/home environment. Bring your dog’s favourite toy or blanket so they feel comfortable and that they have a special area to relax in when they want quiet time.

Create a fun scavenger hunt that can entertain your dog for hours by hiding some treats in toys or bones in crevices within your backyard. Make sure your four-legged friend isn’t too overwhelmed by a lot of toys and instead have a few interesting toys rotated every couple of days.

It will be hard but make departures and returns to your companion uneventful and calm. This will help keep your dog relaxed instead of feeling sudden spikes of excitement and stress.

Regular exercise is an essential part of a healthy active dog’s life. It is also great for releasing doggy endorphins and serotonin (feel-good and calming hormones). Exercising your dog in the morning helps them to use up extra energy so they tire out and are calm during the day.

Not only is obedience and lead training awesome for your dog’s general behaviour it is also great for their brains! It reduces their chance of feeling bored and destroying your favourite pot plant or sofa. It is also a great way to bond with your paw-pal and improves everyone’s mood!

By using these helpful tips, you and your family will be at ease during times of separation from your beloved canine companion and know that they will be happy and healthy.

If you are concerned about your puppy/dog’s behaviour and don’t feel that your strategy is working don’t hesitate to seek assistance from a professional dog trainer (we recommend Ian the Dog Trainer), dog behavioural specialist or Veterinarian.

This Cavoodle is keeping toasty-warm with one of our workers!

Our young future parents having fun in our Puppy Playground!

Our future parents chillaxing after a big socialisation session!

Our Mum and Dad dogs enjoying the obstacle course in the Agility Park!

Lead training in different environments!

Surface Training fun!

Excursion to the beach!

Adelaide keepin occupied in the Puppy Playground!

Honey-bear going for a walk!

Remi receiving some quality time with Deesy!

Here at Banksia Park Puppies we keep our dogs stimulated with regular visits to the Agility Park for extra physical activity and provide socialisation with incursions and excursions. We supply our dogs with some toys and chew ropes and regularly rotate dogs into different yards so they have new neighbours and paw-pals to interact with. We employ an average of 8 Socialisation staff who focus primarily on developing our puppies and dogs’ physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. They undertake walks and lead training, giving and receiving extra affection and cuddles, as well as encouraging surface training with interactive baby toys, mirrors and objects that stimulate a puppy’s senses. With this combination of love, attention and strategies, our puppies and parents are able to adapt to most environments and interact positively with a broad range of people and furiends with minimal to no stress and anxiety!

How do you keep your puppy/dog happy and healthy during time apart? We’d love to hear your feedback!

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Happy Australia Day…

We treated some of our future parents with a dinky-di Australia Day down at our local beach! They had a blast playing with the children, lead training, running through the sand and finding interesting morsels. They were also very confident in the water, even though it was their first time at the beach!

Providing our older puppies with socialisation outings is great for their development. Not only do they learn new and interesting experiences but they grow into happy and confident adult dogs! Positive experiences and human interaction early in their life leads to a well-rounded dog and therefore a happy family!

The featured beach pups in the photos are Kyle and Lettie and we also travelled with Kobie and Lenni.

Have a bonzer time and share with us how you and your paw-pal spent our National Day! 🙂

Don’t risk leaving your dog in a hot car…

We’ve all been for a drive and realised we need to ‘quickly duck into the shop to buy a few things’ or run an errand.

But what happens when your paw-pal is along for the ride?

Sadly, dog fatalities in hot cars are an all too common tragedy!

RSPCA NSW received almost 300 reports of animals with potential heat stress last summer, and almost 80 complaints were of pets locked in cars.

Recently in the news, a careless dog walker left a lady’s dog locked in a hot car, only to have the body found by the owner and a passer-by.

Another recent incident in NSW required Police to smash the windows of a locked car parked in an underground carpark to free a distressed and overheated dog!

These concerning incidents demonstrate how easily dogs can be affected by the heat and especially within a hot, confined space such as a vehicle!

According to Melbourne’s Metropolitan Ambulance Service, it only takes 10 MINUTES for your car to more than double from 20 degrees to 44 degrees Celsius, on a 29-degree day! Taking a further 10 minutes to reach a sweltering 60.2 degrees!!

Even with the windows down and parked in the shade, a vehicle can still be uncomfortably hot.

The RSPCA Victoria recommends that animals left on the back of utility vehicles can be just as at risk of heatstroke and must be supplied with “adequate shade, shelter and water.”

If you find an unattended or suffering dog or animal in a vehicle on a hot day it should be reported to Victoria Police on 000 immediately (other state legislation may vary).

What should you do? :

If your dog is supervised by a passenger in the vehicle ensure that the air-conditioning is running and that the dog has access to water.

Depending on the destination, take your dog with you so you can monitor it and ensure it is hydrated and cool.

If you can’t supervise your dog, it is much safer to leave it at home where it has access to shade and water. A quick trip to the shops with your paw-pal in the car isn’t worth risking its health!

Cool your dog down with water from a hose or putting it in a bath or container of cool but not cold water. Give it access to plenty of drinking water and keep it in the shade or in an air-conditioned environment.

Here is the very spunky Tobasco! Just as a disclaimer, we modelled Tobasco during Winter time in the car and for only 5 minutes!

Here is the very spunky Tobasco! *Just as a disclaimer, we modelled Tobasco during the cooler months of Winter and he was in the car for no more than 5 minutes with the passenger door left open! He is such a pawsome model. 🙂

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How to prevent your paw-pal from overheating…

Dogs don’t sweat like us but instead pant with their tongue out to cool down. If the air temperature around them is hotter than their body temperature panting won’t help and they can quickly overheat, suffer heatstroke or potentially worse!

Here are some tips to keep your puppy or dog cool and signs to look out for if you suspect your puppy or dog is suffering from the heat…

Keeping Cool:

Always provide easy access to drinking water. Fill up the water bowl regularly so it is full, cool and fresh and or use a bigger container or bucket. Supply more than one water source in case of spillage.

Some dogs love ice blocks to crunch on as a cool and healthy treat.

Another cool and sweet treat is watermelon. (Seedless and remove rind.)

Ensure your backyard has shade such as trees, a veranda or shade sail etc.

Allow your pooch inside into an air-conditioned or fan-cooled environment.

Set up a sprinkler or a hose, which is always a fun way to spend a Summer’s day.

Provide your puppy or dog with a small bathing pool or a bucket of water so they can splash in and cool down their bodies when they require. (Keep it shallow for puppies who may not know how to swim yet).

It would seem like common sense but worth mentioning anyway, if it is a hot day remove any doggy outfits, costumes and accessories (other than a collar).

Ensure long and thick coated dogs have a ‘Summer’ clip to them cool.

Minimise exercise and active play time (utilise the cooler early mornings or late evenings to walk your dog).

DON’T leave your dog in a car alone, especially on a hot day! Even if the car is parked in the shade with the windows down, it can still be uncomfortably hot and humidity can also be stifling!

Heatstroke Symptoms:

Excessive panting (more than usual)

Rapid heart-rate

Increased body temperature (above 39 degrees Celsius)

Increased drooling and or thick saliva

Reduced or no appetite for food.

Little to no urine

Bright red tongue

Bright red or pale gums

Weakness/lethargy

Dizziness

Vomiting

Diarrhoea

What to do:

If you suspect Heatstroke:

Seek immediate veterinary attention! Heatstroke can potentially cause unseen problems, such as swelling of the brain, organ failure and or clotting of the blood. On the way to the veterinarian, travel with the windows open in the car and or with the air conditioner on and in the meantime follow the tips below.

If you suspect your puppy/dog has overheated:

Put your dog in the bath, tub or small pool of cool but not cold water.

Run a cool but not cold shower over your dog, especially over the back of the head and neck.

Cool down your dog with a garden hose set on a light shower or sprinkler setting.

Apply a cold pack to the back of your dog’s head to help lower its body temperature.

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Puppy Scams

Protect yourself and stay informed…

With the festive and holiday season coming up families like to make the most of the wonderful weather and time-off work and make the commitment to purchase a puppy.

However, there are a few ‘sellers’ who put a dampener on future puppy owners’ hopes by partaking in Puppy Scams!

In both 2016 and 2015 emails and newspaper ads have been placed particularly around this time of year claiming to be selling our Banksia Park Puppies. Unknowing customers transfer money to the bogus ‘seller’ thinking they’re getting a good deal, but when they dont recieve their puppy they soon realise they have been scammed.

To ensure you are guaranteed in getting a Banksia Park puppy, visit our store in Doncaster East or our website. Our website www.banksiaparkpuppies.com.au only advertises our puppies and contains the necessary information and puppy details you need to ensure you are buying ethically and that a real puppy exists!

We do not want the public to be scammed, or to be unknowingly supporting unethical breeding. Make sure that you do your research!

Look back, behind and all around!

The following points will help ensure that you are not scammed and that you are supporting ethical breeding:

MICROCHIP – Ask for the microchip number of the puppy. Anyone who is scamming you will not have a microchip number to provide. In Victoria, you need to microchip all puppies before sale, and all of our puppies are microchipped. (if you are provided with a ‘microchip’ number that you are not sure about, email us the number and we can double check it on our database.)

PRICE – We take fantastic care of our Mums and Dads: we have a professional groomer on site, weekly visits from a Veterinarian, and 30 staff members employed including staff just for socialising the puppies and parents. When you go to our retail pick up point we have staff experienced in helping you pick the right dog for you and you may spend hours with them talking you through how to care for your puppy. We put a lot of time and effort into making sure that the puppy you pick is right for you, and when it gets home, you can help it fit into your family and your lifestyle. If you find someone is selling you something and the price seems too good to be true – it probably is – either there is no puppy, or it is being bred unethically.

TOURS – Make sure that you can tour the place that the puppy came from and see the entire property – at Banksia Park Puppies we offer full tours of our 220 acre property if any potential buyer wishes to see our park.

SEE THE PROPERTY – Some breeders will meet you in a ‘meeting area’ with Mum and Dad. Make sure you see where they live too, if you don’t see their live-in areas, you don’t know the conditions that the parent dogs are living in.

REMEMBER:

If you want to be guaranteed that you are getting a Banksia Park Puppy, only buy from Pines Puppies.

If you are in doubt and someone is telling you something different – contact us! We will help you with the best way forward, and in the right circumstances will report them to the relevant authorities.

Do your research and ask questions, not only will this stop you from being scammed, it will mean you are supporting only ethical breeders.

The rule of thumb with scams – if it seems too good to be true it probably is.

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Feature Banksia Park Puppy!

We love to follow our Banksia Park Puppies on Instagram and watch them grow and experience many happy memories and adventures with their families!

Their individual Instagram accounts showcase their own unique personalities and fun lifestyles which can be humorous and adorable to see! In order to get to know them even better we have recently introduced a weekly @banksiaparkpuppies Feature Insta-Pup post!

The post consists of a set of fun questions which our chosen Banksia Park Puppy answers and we include a cute photo of them as well! This also enables our @banksiaparkpuppies followers to see what our breed types and puppies look like when they have grownup!

The following post was from our fellow groodle, Milo @thegroovygroodle who has personality-plus! He was so ecstatic when he found out he was chosen for the @banksiaparkpuppies Feature Insta-Post that he was so zealous with his answers and even anticipated celebrity status!!

How old are you Milo (birthdate)?

I am two now! I was born on 16th June 2015! I am such a big boy now.

What do you love most about being a puppy?

Everything! Everyone says how cute I am and they want to pat me and play with me. I love that I am allowed to do anything, and l mean, anything! I love that i am given all the freedom in the world to just be happy. I know a few tricks but my humans realised early on that i was only going to do things on my terms, and they love my spirit and bounciness, so they don’t make me do anything unless it is in my best interest, to keep me safe. So i am a good boy always, because i appreciate this.

What is your favourite toy/doggy accessory?

There’s this fur friend that my humans got me from this place they won’t let me come to with them, called Ikea. He’s a dog too, by the looks of it. I call him Grrr, but my humans call him Rolf. He doesn’t do anything at all. He’s so lazy. Even so, I play with him allllll the time. And anything that squeaks. I LOVE things that squeak. I love squeaking them. I LOVE fetching them. I am addicted to them…my humans are so used to me squeaking away that they tune out to the noise now, and let me just play away, even when they’re watching the moving pictures on that black box on the table.

What is your favourite meal/snack?

Chicken. Chicken. Chicken. And my love of the chook got worse when a chicken butcher (of all things) moved into the warehouse right next to our workplace (yes, I go to work every day with my humans too). Now, the biggest thing that irks my humans is that i never come straight inside when we get to work..it takes a good 5mins of chasing me around and calling out to me to get inside. I am just too busy scouring for leftover chicken bits over next door!

Who is your fur mum/dad?

My fur Dad is Ollie and my fur Mum is Luna. I probably kept them very busy after i was born, it’s safe to assume. I have been a handful from day one, my humans say.

Who is your human family?

My Daddy is Dee. He’s so cool. He is the strict one, but i still have him wrapped around my little paw. My Mummy is a sucker. Her name is Pep. I can do anything and she thinks it the best thing in the world. She’s possibly the reason I am a little bit of a narcissist.

What is your least favourite thing about being a puppy?

The hugs and kisses! My gosh….I get way too much affection. If you can die from love, it’s gonna happen to me. I am constantly being hugged and kissed. I always have pink marks on my head from Mummy’s lip gloss. People think i’m a girl because of this. Great. Not. I try to keep my distance when I see someone bend down for a pat, as i’m not the affectionate type, but they don’t care…They’ll just grab and hug me anyway.

Who is your best friend?

My humans, for sure. I have another fur bestie, Lenny (@lillennylove)….he’s cool as. And then there’s a cute little number from the park, Mint. She’s a little bit pawfect. I’m currently waiting for Havanas digits though….she’s living with you guys at Banksia Park, and I gave her that awesome name. You’re welcome.

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A HUGE final Happy Mother’s Day to all our mums!

We have focused on a few different mums and thoughts this week to showcase our mums here at Banksia Park Puppies. On today, we say a big Happy Mother’s Day to all our mums here living with us at Banksia Park Puppies, as well as those that we have rehomed into homes throughout Victoria (and further in some cases!). We also say a big happy Mother’s Day to all the human mums of our Banksia Park Puppies. Thank you for keeping us involved in their lives and their personalities. We love seeing the photos and hearing the stories!

Taylee

Remember

As a last note on this Mother’s Day week, we hope that wherever you got your puppy from that you know who your puppy’s mum is, and the conditions your mum grew up and lives in. We hope that everyone who looks for a puppy is mindful of where mum (and dad) lives and that we can all work together to promote open, transparent, ethical breeding. Ask questions, visit first hand, and remember – for the sake of all our furry mums – choose ethically.